As Wu Yan channeled her Spiritual Power, the ground began to tremble. Small stones were swept up by the gale, and golden light rose, forming a Light Gate.
“This is the entrance.”
Ji Xuerou came to Wu Yan’s side.
“Xuerou.”
The world beyond the gate might be fraught with danger. If possible, she didn’t want Ji Xuerou to take the risk.
“Wu Yan, you know I’m not that kind of person.”
“Then let’s go.”
Taking Ji Xuerou’s hand, the two stepped into the Light Gate together.
The world suddenly turned pitch black. The dizzying sensation of weightlessness made Wu Yan instinctively want to retch. When her vision cleared, she let go of Ji Xuerou’s hand.
It wasn’t the cold and dark she expected, nor did it seem like a dangerous place. The soft ground beneath her feet gave off a scent of grass and earth. There was even a sun in the sky, casting a warm glow.
“Here, it looks…”
Ji Xuerou wanted to say that the environment resembled a legendary paradise. Around them, there were even many spiritual plants growing.
But even so, they couldn’t let their guard down.
Wu Yan and Ji Xuerou extended their Divine Sense together, each responsible for half, spreading it across the space. After confirming there were no strange Spiritual Power fluctuations, Wu Yan turned to Ji Xuerou.
“Xuerou, how is it on your end?”
Ji Xuerou shook her head.
“There’s nothing particularly dangerous, but there’s a place with a strange Spiritual Power fluctuation. I’m not sure what it is.”
‘Ha—what’s with all this caution, you dead log?’
Wu Yan (Inner) yawned nonchalantly.
‘What’s there to be nervous about in this Secret Realm?’
“Better to be cautious in everything.”
So the two walked side by side toward the place of anomalous Spiritual Power that Ji Xuerou had mentioned.
“Giggle, giggle, giggle!”
But after only half an hour of walking, laughter came from the bushes beside them.
“Who!”
The black-and-white sword body of Wu Nian suddenly swung out, its sharp tip pointing directly at the disturbance. The bushes were torn apart by the sword aura, revealing the black soil beneath.
They saw a crack open in the dark soil, and from within, a round cabbage emerged. The cabbage was growing well, with tender white leaves stacked layer upon layer. But Wu Yan and Ji Xuerou did not let their guard down just because it was a cabbage.
‘Ahh! This lord’s eyes! What kind of creature is this! How can it be so disgusting!’
There was naturally a reason for Wu Yan (Inner) to exclaim like this.
The cabbage’s heart was now unfolding toward Wu Yan and the others. On the heart, there were clearly patterns resembling a human face, and its expression seemed to be smiling at them. Oh, not “seemed.” Wu Yan clearly heard that the “giggle, giggle, giggle” laughter was coming from this cabbage.
“Is this cabbage smiling at us?”
Ji Xuerou’s voice sounded normal, but Wu Yan could see the slight twitch at the corner of her mouth.
“If nothing else, it seems so.”
‘Quickly kill it for this lord! This thing is too disgusting!’
“Wait.”
Wu Yan didn’t act. Because that cabbage that had emerged from the soil had rolled a couple of times and stopped at Wu Yan’s feet. The leaves on top swayed left and right, and clear dew sprayed onto Wu Yan’s shoes. At the same time, the smiling face on the heart stretched even wider.
Wu Yan stepped back half a step without changing expression.
“It probably doesn’t mean any harm.”
Ji Xuerou looked down at the cabbage and noticed that it seemed to have a special fondness for Wu Yan. No matter which direction Wu Yan moved, it would accurately reach her feet.
She was about to tease Wu Yan a bit when suddenly, from the forest not far away, came a strange call, like a chicken and a duck. The two immediately assumed defensive postures, and a Spiritual Power barrier spread out before them.
They saw the forest leaves shake even more violently, and finally, a group of strange creatures emerged. They had black backs and white bellies, small stature, and looked exactly like penguins. Their fin-like wings were flapping.
“What are these?”
Even the calm Wu Yan was stunned by the appearance of these creatures. Why were there penguins in this Secret Realm? The records had no mention of them.
“Gugu gaga?”
The leading penguin had a tuft of purple fur on its forehead, and its voice was more pleasant than the others. It waddled step by step to Wu Yan’s front, with a cabbage leaf on its head. It tilted its head and used its left wing to point at Wu Yan, then pointed into the forest.
“Gugu gaga!”
Wu Yan frowned slightly, tightening her grip ninefold, and stepped forward with her left foot.
Unexpectedly, the group of penguins was frightened by her movement. They all stepped back in unison and buried their heads in their bellies. Only the leading penguin was unaffected, still pointing at Wu Yan and at the forest, mumbling “gugu gaga.”
Ji Xuerou immediately reacted. She retracted the Spiritual Power barrier, crouched down, and looked at the leading penguin.
“Do you mean for us to follow you?”
Hearing Ji Xuerou’s words, the purple-crested penguin’s eyes lit up, and it nodded repeatedly.
“Is it showing us the way?”
Wu Yan watched its actions and felt something burning hot in her bosom. ‘I must be bewitched. My chest is getting hot. No!’ Wu Yan suddenly thought of something. She reached into her bosom and pulled out a hot, glowing Jade Token.
The direction indicated by the Jade Token was exactly the direction this penguin had pointed.
“Please lead the way.”
Having noticed Wu Yan’s movement, Ji Xuerou said softly to the penguin.
Seeing that the leader had reached an agreement, the group of penguins also recovered and led the two toward the forest.
“These creatures are called penguins, right?”
Walking beside Wu Yan, Ji Xuerou suddenly asked.
“Yeah.”
“I thought so. There’s no record of this creature in the ancient texts of the Lingxiao Sect. I only barely remembered their name because I saw them in your memory.”
“Gugu gaga!”
The lead penguin occasionally looked back at them. If they were too slow, it would even call out to urge them.
“Quite cute.”
Ji Xuerou gave her assessment of the penguins.
Along the way, they encountered no dangers, but they saw more and more rare beasts and strange creatures.
Besides the smiling cabbage and the gugu-gaga penguins, there were mushrooms with four thin legs hopping and spreading spores. Dandelions carrying little lanterns that, when shaken, released white seeds. And tree kangaroo-like creatures on the trees throwing fruit at them.
Speaking of which, is it really reasonable for tree kangaroos to live in trees?
‘Hey, dead log, you’ve got to admit. After looking at them for a while, these creatures are kind of pleasing to the eye.’
Floating above Wu Yan’s head, Wu Yan (Inner) swayed her legs lazily.
‘That Little White-Eyed Wolf could fall into a trap here. This lord didn’t misjudge her—she’s ridiculously weak!’
Wu Yan suddenly stopped. Not because of Wu Yan (Inner)’s words, but because the group of lead penguins had all halted in front of a thick fog. With a shua la sound, they lined up neatly. Under the guidance of the purple-crested penguin, they bowed respectfully toward the front, and the “gugu gaga” sounds grew softer.
“They are saluting something.”
Ji Xuerou’s Glazed Pupils could vaguely see something hidden within the thick fog.
“Googoo gaga—”
After bowing, the leading penguin suddenly shouted.
In an instant, the thick fog dispersed. An ancient Stone Hall appeared before them. On the steps paved with red bricks, there was clearly a talisman. Wu Yan had seen it before—it was the lifesaving talisman that Xia Lingshuang had given to Yu Qingyao.
The Jade Token in her hand was so hot that Wu Yan’s fingertips turned red. Without a doubt, Yu Qingyao was inside the Stone Hall.
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